Waldheim, Aides Hear Pontiff Recall ‘Cruel Tyranny’ : Pope Reminds Austrians of Nazi Terror

Pope John Paul II on Thursday recalled the tyranny and suffering of Austria’s Nazi past in an address to government leaders including President Kurt Waldheim, who has been accused of war crimes as a German army officer in World War II.

The Pope addressed the Austrian leaders on the first day of a five-day pastoral visit to Austria that Vatican aides describe as an opportunity to bridge the gap between West and East.

Today the pontiff will meet with a group of Austrian Jews, say a Mass near the border with Hungary and visit Mauthausen, a former Nazi concentration camp. A handful of American and French Jewish activists protested the Pope’s meetings with Waldheim on Thursday.

Historic Relations

For his major address of the day, in which he emphasized the historic relations between heavily Catholic Austria and the Holy See, the white-robed Pope journeyed to the president’s wing of the Hofburg Palace, seat of Hapsburg emperors from 1283 to 1918.

“I should like particularly,” he said, “to recall the great trials and cruel tyranny that Austria, along with other nations, had to suffer in the not-too-distant past.”

He said that “large numbers of Catholic priests, members of religious orders and lay people” were among the “many who were persecuted for religious, racial and political reasons” in Nazi Austria.

The Austrian Roman Catholic Church supported Austria’s annexation by Nazi Germany 50 years ago but quickly grew disenchanted. A Nazi mob sacked the archbishop’s palace in October, 1938, and priests and other Catholics who opposed Nazism were among those sent to concentration camps such as Mauthausen, where more than 35,000 people were executed.

Waldheim and members of his Cabinet were present for the Pope’s address, along with U.S. Ambassador Henry A. Grunwald and the Israeli charge d’affaires, Gideon Yarden.

“The U.S. position has not changed,” Grunwald said. “I attend protocolary functions.”

Waldheim denies any wrongdoing while serving as an officer in a German army unit that committed atrocities in the Balkans during World War II, but he is unwelcome in the United States by decision of the Justice Department.

In greeting John Paul on Thursday afternoon in an austere ceremony at the Vienna airport, Waldheim applauded him as a man of peace.

“We may sometimes be disheartened when we witness the evil caused by intolerance, intransigence and hate among nations, religions and classes, but we place our hopes in you, Holy Father,” Waldheim said.

‘Warmest Thanks’

John Paul and Waldheim chatted alone briefly Thursday evening before Waldheim publicly expressed his “warmest thanks” for the reception he had received at an official visit to the Vatican a year ago this week.

The Pope is the only Western leader who has officially received Waldheim, who has resisted calls for his resignation and is now expected by Austrian observers to serve out the remaining four years of his six-year term.

Hailing the “precious heritage” of the democracy that has flourished in neutral postwar Austria, the pontiff told the diplomats that freedom “does not mean lack of commitment and arbitrariness but . . . the right to do good.” And he added, “The good to which all people in this country should be encouraged through the theme of my pastoral visit is ‘Yes to life’ in all its dimensions.”

Thursday’s public protests were small and subdued compared to the outcry among international Jewish groups triggered by last year’s meeting with Waldheim at the Vatican. Before the Pope’s arrival Thursday, a New York rabbi and five other American Jews appeared outside Waldheim’s office carrying a picture of the Austrian leader in his German army uniform and a banner urging, “John Paul, Don’t Meet Waldheim.”

The papal visit, the second in nearly 10 years, also brought small protests from Austrians who oppose Waldheim.

“The Pope should not shake hands with Waldheim because Waldheim has lied a lot, and the church is saying people shouldn’t lie,” said Anna Kramcer, a non-Jewish Austrian protester.

As many as 100,000 Hungarians with special permission to enter Austria for the day are expected for a papal Mass this morning at the town of Eisenstadt. On Saturday, a Mass in the city of Gurk is expected to draw tens of thousands of Yugoslavs.